"...at least in this country, Black actors, male and female, generally-speaking, do not practice creating art that is both functional and liberating..."
(originally posted 11/17/10)
Dear friends,
While I still don’t plan to see it any more than I would want to see “The Ku Klux Klan cheerleaders go to Hollywood”, Tyler Perry’s latest effort to outdo himself as the King Coon of Black cinema has, apparently, had some success. The sad part is: because, at least in this country, Black actors, both male and female, generally-speaking, do not practice creating art that is both functional and liberating, the insatiably greedy market has found a niche for them to embrace that allows such actors and actresses to work at their crafts without dignity, while, simultaneously, being well-compensated.
Of course, I don’t know whether or not Perry even admits to an attempt at creating art. Still, I wonder why he doesn’t take advantage of his ability to reach so many loyal supporters and do a film about Ida B. Wells or former Panther chief Elaine Brown, for example, where his aforementioned supporters can learn some practical ways to gain the respect and dignity that they so obviously crave.
Moreover, the idea that people cannot entertain themselves by pro-actively exercising their inner powers like both physical and mental energy, concentration, memory, and persistence, to name a few, and, instead passively sit, listen, and watch thoughtless plays and movies only magnifies their individual frustrations of feeling so powerless and helpless in this lonely experience called human life.
Worse yet, attempts to find union with others in order to relieve themselves of their anxieties about feeling separate and lonesome, unfortunately, makes, in this case, some females cling to each other under a veil of sentimentality. In the process, they commiserate with each other about how “men” treat them, as if all women are models of moral rectitude. Yet, as long as the market determines the meaning of “value” in our society, as opposed to vice versa, Tyler Perry and the “actors” he employs will persist.
In any case, on the link below, I am honored to share a piece that came out a few years ago, regarding Tyler Perry’s new movie “For Colored Girls”. Thoughtful, but entertaining, it was written by a dear friend of mine from the Philadelphia Daily News, the late, great Fatimah Ali. Enjoy!
G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20101109_Fatimah_Ali__In__For_Colored_Girls___cast_trumps_the_grim_material.html Read full post
